The diversified Indian financial services group has inked a memorandum of understanding to donate 43.7 million rupees (about US$1.1 million) to the two-year project to house low-income rural families in the western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat.

In mid-2007, HFH India had signed another MOU with local charitable trust Anarde Foundation to build 1,000 houses in Gujarat.

Since October 2007, ASK Group has been a committed Habitat partner, donating 3.6 million rupees (more than US$91,000) to fund an HFH India project to build homes for 100 tribal families in western India. It also sent employees to build with Habitat on the Karjat site, south of Mumbai. ASK Group was inspired to partner with Habitat following a call by Indian movie star and HFH India’s goodwill ambassador John Abraham.

During the MOU signing ceremony, which Abraham attended, Koticha was also invited to join Habitat’s IndiaBUILDS advisory committee by the co-chair Rajashree Birla and HFH India’s managing director Felix Fernandes.

TheIndiaBUILDS campaign aims to house 250,000 people over five years, mobilizing one million volunteers in the process and raising capital toward that goal.